24
Dec
Yarn, Knitting tip & techniques

A soft lopi alternative to Léttlopi: correspondence table

Posted on by helene magnusson

I love lopi sweaters and I don’t mind at all wearing them close to the skin. However that is not the case for everyone and many people, Icelandic children, my 3 daughters included, complain that they are scratchy!
Lopi sweaters knitted with Léttlopi are probably the most popular so I was very happy when I came out with an alternative to Léttlopi that is much softer but that is still lopi and pure Icelandic wool: a lopapeysa is not a lopapeysa if not knitted with lopi!

When knitting together 1 single strand of plötulopi with 1 strand of Icelandic Love Story lace, you get a very soft fabric with the same gauge and texture than Léttlopi.

Here is a correspondence table: per number og skeins/plates

I used this blend Plötulopi/Love Story for the main color in my Birgitta lopi sweater for children and the softness made a huge difference: the children in my family are now using their lopi sweaters, and stopped complaining that it scratches!

Can this blend be used instead of Léttlopi for just any sweater calling for Léttlopi yarn? Yes absolutely! You can even use it only as the main color and keep the motif colors in Léttlopi. On the pictures below, the adult sweaters (Gamallegur and Gamaldags) )are knitted with Léttlopi and the children one with the blend: you a barely spot the difference but you can feel it I promise!

Some would argue that you can simply use one single strand of plötulopi and that is true but sweaters knitted with a sigle lopi strand tend to wear out quite quickly on the edges and at all friction points. The addition of the Icelandic Love Story not only make the unspun lopi stronger, long-lasting and more manageable to knit, but it also makes it significantly softer because Love Story is made of super soft Icelandic lambswool.

Birgitta: plötulopi white + Love Story Hafra beige

I first used this Plötulopi /Love Story blend in my Frjókorn sweater, knitting it very loose at the same gauge you would obtain when knitting with 3 strands of Plötulopi (or Álafoss lopi) for a super super light and super airy sweater. I wouldn’t say it’s an alternative because it makes a completely different fabric, so fluid, but you can certainly use it with any pattern calling for Álafoss lopi or 3 strands of Plötulopi.

Here is the correspondence table:

 

Useful links:

 

helene magnusson